Tuesday, June 30, 2015

I
hesitated a bit on deciding to read this because the cover on the
edition I have calls it Young Adult, which generally isn't my reading of
choice, and I'm generally not into fae/fairies either. But wow, am I
glad I went ahead and read it. The story has a depth and sophistication
that makes it much more adult than a lot of YA I've read (also, some of
the subject matter might be considered more mature than would be usual
for a YA audience). It's set in a refreshingly original world based on
ancient Native American cultures and settings, and while fae creatures
play an important role, the emphasis is solidly on the human characters.
Enchanting, intriguing, and beautifully written. (full review)

Veil of the Dragon, byTom Barczak Beautifully-written
fantasy about a man facing his destiny to save the world from evil, who
has to overcome the evil within himself and those who are supposed to
help him on his way. The main attraction of this book is the prose,
highly visual (not surprising, since the author is an illustrator and
architect; the book is illustrated with the author's own drawings) and
impressionistic, weaving visions and reality together. (full review)

Six
teasers/prologues/backstories to stories in the Whiskey & Wheelguns
shared weird west universe. Creepy, magical, and filled with weird
western goodness. Apparently, the collective kind of changed direction
after this collection was released, so further installments aren't
always easy to find, but based on the taste here, it's worth the effort.

Oxygen, by John S. Olson & Randy Ingermanson
I didn't have anything for X, so I went with the next best thing - a title with X in it.

Hard science fiction isn't my usual reading, but one of the authors of Oxygen, Randy Ingermanson, developed a popular outlining method for writers (the Snowflake method) and I found out about Oxygen
on his site. I'll admit that what grabbed me was the romance aspect of
"science fiction romance", but I ended up thoroughly enjoying everything
about this book. Fun, exciting, suspenseful, with a sweet romance and
some thought-provoking ideas. (full review)

Beyond Sanctuary, by Janet Morris
I only had a couple of different possibilities for Y but couldn't stick with any of them, so I chose Beyond Sanctuary
because it has two Ys in the title. Lame, but hey, whatever. Plus I've
owed the author a read-and-review on it for a while now. [Please note,
with very rare exceptions, I no longer do read-and-review requests.]

Interesting,
exciting sword-and-sorcery set in the Thieves' World shared world,
well-written in beautiful, poetic prose. I'm not familiar with Thieves'
World, so it took me a while to figure out what was going on in Beyond Sanctuary,
but eventually I got the hang of most of it. On the down side, I found
the two heroes, Tempus and Niko, deeply unlikeable - one is a rapist,
the other has a penchant for deflowering barely pubescent virgins. To
me, these are deal-breakers when it comes to heroes. It's a testament to
the author's storytelling skills that when I came across things that
would normally make me stop reading and delete the book, I had to keep
going to find out how the story turned out. (full review)

Zanna's Outlaw - Julie Lence
Sweet-natured (though slightly spicy) western historical romance. What I liked best about Zanna's Outlaw
was Buck. Even though he's an outlaw, he's also a gentleman through and
through. He cares about protecting Zanna and treats her well. And even
though no one else in town thinks it's a problem when the town
prostitute, Fancy, gets beat up by a client, he makes it clear that no
one's going to treat women that way in his town. Quick, fun read with a
likeable hero and charming romance. (full review)

And that brings the Reading A-Z Challenge to an end! (See the other installments: A-G, H-N, and O-T.)
Next I'll just be reading a bunch of books I've been wanting to get to
for a while, as well as more from some new favorites I've discovered.
Watch for periodic reading roundups for my recommendations!

Friday, June 26, 2015

For this week's Friday 5, here are five of my must-have writing tools beyond the obvious (computer, printer, paper).

1. Liquid Story Binder (writing software) http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/Kinda
old now, but full of useful features and amazingly flexible. I can go
from brainstorming and outlining to writing to revision and
spellchecking all in one program. Scrivener is the really popular
writing program now, and it has a lot of features in common with LSB,
but I found it a little too regimented. This image shows a working
layout from The Lost Book of Anggird, with a timeline, the Builder I
wrote in (Builders are a tool that collects a lot of files into one
larger file with a "table of content" on the side that lets you add,
delete, and move smaller individual files around), and a listing all the
files in that project.

2. Index cards.I'll
confess, I kind of have a fetish for index cards. One of my desk
drawers is crammed full of unopened packs in both 3 x 5 and 4 x 6 sizes.
I use these for outlining, putting each scene idea on a card, then I
can see where the blanks are that need to be filled in and also
rearrange them as needed. I also use them for revision. I make a scene
for each card (as described here: http://www.kyrahalland.com/blog/daughter-of-the-wildings-revision-progress)
with a one-sentence summary of the scene, notes on the purpose of the
scene, the situation or conflict it addresses, what changes in the scene
to move the story forward, and what revisions I need to make in the
scene.

3. Post-its.I
use a ton of post-its, or sticky notes. I put them on my revision index
cards to give myself an idea of how much work each scene needs (I'm
almost never right) (also see the post linked above). I also use them to
mark the place in my manuscript where I left off editing, and also to
leave notes to myself in the manuscript of things I think of that need
to be changed later on. For example, in the crossing the river scene in
To the Gap (upcoming book 4), I put a sticky note saying "Mrs B rides
across fully clothed". Cryptic, but I know what it means, and when I get
to that part I'll know I meant to change that. (rides across fully
clothed, as opposed to swimming across the river in her underwear like
everyone else has to do, if you're wondering.)

4. Timer.I
use this on days when I'm having trouble focusing, set for 15 minutes
at a time. Or if I have other chores I need to get done, I set it for 30
minutes at a time, then go work on other stuff for a bit. Or if my work
hours have been slipping, I set it for the number of hours I need to
work that day to make sure I get them all in.

5. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1st edition.My
parents gave me this for Christmas (or maybe my birthday? they're close
together) when I was in, hm, 5th or 6th grade, and I still have it.
This is the original edition, with an extensive section in the back on
word origins, which is great for coming up with fantasy words. It's huge
and heavy, and since it's over 40 years old its eleventy-gazillion
entries don't include the latest slang and buzzwords (but since I write
other-world fantasy I don't need those anyway), but it's my
authoritative go-to for spelling, definitions, and usage (the extensive
usage notes have been a lifesaver more than once). An oldie but goodie,
and I have no plans to quit using it.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

This week I'm the featured author in my Goodreads group, Paranormal,
Fantasy, Dystopia and Romance Readers, Writers and Reviewers! I want to
say thanks to all these nice people who are helping promote me this
week:

Friday, June 19, 2015

It's time again for the Friday 5! This week, five-sentence (more or less) snippets from the fifth chapter of five of my books.

In Urdaisunia, Rashali has been elected to take her village's thanks to a Sazar nobleman who did them a favor:

Rashali
looked across the road at Moon Bend, which she had never left in all
her life. She had never traveled to Tigun’s native village on the Tabra
to meet his parents, or even to the next village downriver. Zir, the
great city, was very far away, four days’ walk or more.

And may she be damned to Araskagan’s darkest pits if she ever chased after a Sazar in order to grovel to him.

“You have to go, Rashali,” a woman said. “He’ll be angry if he thinks we’re ungrateful.”

From Chosen of Azara, Juzeva, traveling through the desert in search of a mysterious Source, has an unwelcome encounter:

Hours
later, when the sun was sinking low in the sky, she rounded a bend in a
narrow gap between two hills and found her path blocked by a red-gold
cat the size of a horse. She froze as the animal looked at her through
gold eyes and growled softly in its throat.

She fought back a
panicked urge to flee. If she tried to run away, the beast would easily
chase her down, and she couldn’t climb up the steep, rocky hillsides to
escape from it. But if she held still, maybe it would lose interest in
her.

“Sir Baril!” Professor Rossony called out as he caught up with the Lord Regent just outside the doors of the Lectorium.

The
white-haired, aristocratic-looking Regent stepped aside so that they
wouldn’t block the doorway. “Your application is still under
consideration, Rossony,” he said with an air of impatience, as though
they had had this conversation too many times already. “You do
understand that this is a decision which cannot be reached in haste.”

“Of course, Sir Baril. But —”

“Be assured, Professor Rossony, we will inform you of our decision the moment we make it. Good day.”

In Sarya's Song, Sarya is undergoing a Penance lashing from a Master who has taken a dislike to her:

Sarya
counted the strokes, wincing with each sharp smack of the leather
thongs on her back. This whipping was harder than the other one had
been, just within the bounds of what was permitted. After the fifth
lash, she started to stand up, then a sixth stroke came down hard across
her back. Pain ripped from her shoulder to her waist, and a warm
wetness began spreading from where the lash had struck her.

She stumbled to her feet and spun to face Master Uldo. “Damn you, that was six! And you drew blood!”

From Beneath the Canyons, Silas and Lainie are investigating the strange ore that Carden's miners are digging up:

Mr.
Vendine took a bandana out of one of his duster pockets, folded it and
covered her hand with it, then dropped a few of the black lumps into her
palm.

Icy pain shot up through her arm, seizing her heart and
her lungs in freezing agony. Dark terror wrapped around her mind,
cutting off sight, hearing, and even thought. Cold ran through her
veins, spreading through her arms, her back and legs, her belly and
loins. It was like the night terrors, only a hundred times – a thousand
times – worse.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

1. Tell us a little about yourself.I
was born out west in Aurora, Colorado. Due to that, I began skiing when
I was 3. Now if you put skiis on my feet I would face-plant.I
then moved to Salt Lake City, Utah - I don't care what anyone tells me
there is not a more beautiful place than Spring in the mountains.I have lived in Dayton, Ohio for about 26 years now.I am married and we have a little boy that steals my heart daily.I am Greek, German, Irish and Scotch. 2. When did you start writing, and why?The minute I could hold a crayon, I started “writing”.I would make picture books and tell stories about them.My
sister is 8 years older than me and says I used to driver her nuts with
it. When I was in college I would be writing a short story while doing
the rest of my course work.I got a lot of dumbfounded looks and a lot of “why?” My answer to them? “I need a break.”Why did I start writing?I loved creating.I started reading and never stopped. From reading, my imagination was developed to a healthy level.Some
may even say, to a very active level. My son is very imaginative as
well, and I love and encourage it the way my parents did with me. 3. What do you write, and why? What do you enjoy about what you write?I write whatever strikes my fancy.However,
Demons is a fantasy/paranormal/action/romance…they don’t have a
category like that for classification purposes, so I call it either
fantasy or paranormal romance. I decided on this genre because that is who Delaney is.Let me explain, I created Delaney before the world I surrounded her with.She
was a Hunter, so my book automatically led me to fantasy and the love
of her life, Az, is a Demon so paranormal romance. I try not to confine
myself to one genre, if something strikes me I will write it.I’ve even written children’s stories with my son. What do I enjoy about it? I love my world and my characters.I wouldn’t want them any other way.Some of them are flawed, of course, who’s perfect? But that is what I love about it.There is perfection in their imperfections.

4. What is your latest book or series? Any forthcoming books?My latest book is Demons, A Hunter’s Novel, Book 1.It’s
going to be a three book series, Demons is out now (Kindle and
paperback on Amazon), Darkness (book 2) should be out by July, and
Destiny (book 3) will be out either late 2015 or early 2016.I
am also writing a standalone romance, that I got the idea for while I
was in Las Vegas, that has the working title of An Unknown Place. 5. "Welcome To My Worlds": Tell us a little about the world of your latest book or series.The world that surrounds our main characters is filled with supernaturals.Demons,
mostly, surround our characters, but there are still others, Drovers
(supernatural shifters that have to stay within a certain radius of
their leader), Werewolves, Vampires, Fairies and even Angels. The group
that keeps the supernatural population in line is the Hunters.They protect the humans from knowing about supernaturals as well as keep humans physically safe from them. 6. Introduce us to some of your characters. What do you like about them?
Delaney (goes by Laney) Hinders is the female lead, the heroine. She
is tall at 5’ 10”, curvy, with black hair and light blue eyes.She is a Hunter.We meet her at a very dark time in her life.She
has been in a self-imposed, self-hating haze for six months due to her
breakup with her boyfriend, which doesn’t seem to be a strong enough
word for their connection, Azrael.This book deals with a lot of her pain and the fall out of past decisions, as well as supernatural issues.And with all of this on her plate, there still a budding strength in her.In the next book, well, she’s pretty kick ass even though and in spite of some things that happen. Azrael is a Delaney’s boyfriend, her heart, her Demon.He is absolutely dedicated to Delaney, from start to finish.He would do anything for her, but she won’t let him.Delaney is Hell-bent on protecting him, and all Azrael wants to do is the same.Az knows they are better together than apart.He
is also very high up in the Demon ranks – second in command, as well as
a born Enforcer (he keeps Demons in line when they violate their
rules).He moved up when Delaney broke it off with him.The fact that Azrael is willing to give up anything for Delaney is what every woman wants to hear…except Delaney.Az’s heart is my favorite thing about him.He’s a walking contradiction. Aniese is one of Delaney’s two best friends.They grew up together.Aniese was an orphan, taken in by her father and raised to be a Hunter.Anie was a Hunter until she was bitten by a Drover.She became a Drover and kicked out of the Hunter organization.She is kept in the loop, however, due to her relationship with Laney’s father (Janesh, pronounced Yan-esh).She
is also Laney’s stylist. She’s all smartass and attitude down to her
core. Her hard exterior and soft insides are what I love about her. Caden is the other of Delaney’s best friends. Cade is on the Hunter Counsel.He moved up quickly because he is a hard worker.Even though he is on the counsel, he also still fends for his friends.He was the one to approach Laney and tell her that the Hunters would eventually find out about Az and her’s relationship.He was the one to push for their breakup.He is a Hunter to the core, but also loves his friends.Cade was there to support Delaney and check on her when she broke it off with Az.He was the only one who was aware of Delaney’s spiral into a pit of despair.He walks a fine line but does so, for those he cares about, gladly.It’s what I love about him. 7. A fun fact you would like your readers to know about you or your book. Every chapter of my book is started with a quote from a song.It takes a lot of listening and writing, but you can tell where my music tastes lie. :)

Demons: A Hunter's Novel, book 1:
Delaney Hinders is on a ride with no rules. After breaking up with her
boyfriend and coming out of a six month self-imposed haze, she finds
herself being followed by every supernatural in a 100 mile radius. Her
life is changing rapidly. As Delaney tries to figure out who can be
trusted and who is on her side, she realizes that she cannot live
without her Demon...Available at AmazonAbout the author:Felicite
was born in Aurora, Colorado and lived some of her early years in Salt
Lake City, Utah. She could ski way before she could walk. She graduated
from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in English, and a
concentration in creative writing (I know, shocker). She now lives in
Dayton, Ohio with her husband Chris and their son Ethan.

Felicite keeps herself on this side of the padded cell by vegging out on
Sherlock Holmes (BBC with Benedict Cumberbatch), reading someone else's
work, playing with her son and exercising (which are sometimes one and
the same). She finds joy in the small things in life and wants to do one
thing that scares the crap out of her each year.

3. Rinkworks: http://www.rinkworks.com/
About as old-school as you can get on the web, but still lots of fun.
Book In A Minute, text-based games, puzzles, the Fantasy Novelist's
Exam, fantasy name generator, horror stories from tech support,
everything you need to kill an hour or three.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

More books on my Reading A-Z challenge. (Part 1, A-G; Part 2, H-N).
The rules: choose a book with a title for each letter; it has to be
something I already own (if I don't have a books for a particular letter
but have a sample, I can buy that book); DNFs don't count (except in
the case of collections and boxed sets; have to read at least one of the
stories all the way through); indie authors strongly preferred. So,
here's O through T (links, except for Quest, go to Goodreads):

Path
of the Heretic is the exciting follow-up to The Beholder, and I liked
it even more than the first book (which I enjoyed very much).The book is darkly moody and atmospheric, but I also appreciate the touch of romance from the man's point of view.Great reading for fans of urban/contemporary fantasy. See the full review here.

I
didn't have any books for Q, but I do have a multi-book boxed set
called Quest, so I decided to dip into that. I didn't read every book in
it, but here are a few notes on what I did read. On the whole, there's
something in it for nearly all fantasy fans, and it's well worth picking
up to sample some new authors.

The Book of Deacon-
Joseph R. Lallo: I had already read this. Not without its problems, but
if you enjoy coming-of-age and learning-about-magic fantasy, check this
one out.The Emperor's Edge-
Lindsay Buroker: I had also already read this, as well. Book 1 of the
wonderful Emperor's Edge series, fun and exciting epic fantasy with a
steampunk twist. I highly recommend the whole series.The God Decrees- Mark E. Cooper: The
kingdom of Deva, under attack by a kingdom of powerful sorcerers, is
desperate for help, so one of Deva's few sorcerers risks everything to
bring a powerful magician from another world to help out... a
19-year-old aspiring Olympic gymnast from our world named Julia. Who
knows nothing about magic, and anyway, women aren't supposed to be able
to use magic!See the full review here.Defender-
Robert J. Crane: Epic fantasy that reads a lot like a video game.
Readers who also like playing games like World of Warcraft will probably
enjoy it a lot.Draykon- Charlotte E. English: skipped because I was getting impatient to move on to the next letter.Fire & Ice-
Patty Jansen: Interesting premise, set in a world where people born
with physical deformities are left to die, but those who survive are
capable of powerful magic.Lost City- Jeffrey M. Poole: Treasure-hunting dwarves in an adventure story for tweens/YA readers.Reversion: The Inevitable Horror- J. Thorn: skipped for now because I was ready to move on.

A
group of travelers are crossing a vast, desolate grassland, hoping to
avoid the barbarian natives. The leader of the caravan ignores some dire
omens, resulting in trouble when they meet up with the barbarians - and
when one of the travelers turns out to not be what they appear to be.

A
long short story (close to novella length), suspenseful and magical,
written in evocative language (though it could use one more quick edit
to clean up a few mistakes). The characters are memorable, the world is
well-developed in a few well-chosen words, and the climactic
confrontation is explosive. Intriguing possibilities are left open at
the end, and I really hope there'll be a follow-up story. Recommended if
you want a quick immersion into an exciting fantasy world.(Redfall is labeled Book 2 of Legacy of Ash, but it stands alone.)

A
city perched on rocks over the sea is attacked by a gigantic storm,
presenting a challenge to the survival of three characters - a female
soldier, a talented bard, and a young girl. Who will triumph, the people
fighting the storm or the storm itself?

Tense
and evocative and horrifying, set in a well-developed fantasy world
skillfully conveyed in a few careful brushstrokes. Beautifully written
(though it could use a final clean-up edit to fix a few mistakes). The
ending is somewhat darker than I prefer, which is why I couldn't quite
rate it 5 stars, but I would really love to know what happens next and
hope there'll be a follow-up story.

Wow,
this was really amazing, one of the rare books that I start reading and
it almost hurts to have to put it down. Reads like a mashup of
thief/assassin fantasy and hardboiled detective novels (I could almost
hear Amra saying in a female Humphrey Bogart voice "I knew he was
trouble the moment he walked in").Read the full review here.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Well,
what do you know, it's a week into June already and I still haven't
done the monthly wrap-up and look ahead. Basically, most of what I'm
doing is still working on edits of To the Gap, book 4 of Daughter of the Wildings.
It's going really well, and so far everything's on track for a release
in the first part of July. I know I've blogged about this before, but
here's a rundown of my writing/editing workflow:

A lot of times, if the manuscript is really a mess, I do a second copy edit between steps 6 and 7. But so far, on step 5 on To the Gap, I'm not finding a whole lot of changes to make. So hopefully I won't have to do that extra step.

On
days when I finish my editing quote on time, I've been working on
outlining the Healing Tree, a novel set in my world of Estelend. Should
be ready to start writing soon. I found the perfect soundtrack for it,
the new album Haven by Kamelot. Here's a video of one of the songs
from the album:

I'm
still reading from A to Z. Up to V now; the end is in sight! For a
while there I kept finding books that I couldn't finish. I'm not going
to say what they are; this indie author gig is tough, and taste is
subjective, and I don't want to be the one putting down a fellow author.
Instead I'll just focus on the books I do read all the way through.
I've been discovering some amazing reads; watch for another roundup
soon!

I keep telling myself I need to start thinking about what
comes after Daughter of the Wildings. At the moment I have three novels
in draft awaiting revision, a fourth about ready to be written, and a
binder full of short stories related to Chosen of Azara and The
Source-fixer. And I've started developing ideas for a follow-up series
to Daughter of the Wildings; I know the basic series conflict and the
basic plot of the first book. I've been so deeply absorbed in Daughter
of the Wildings it's hard to focus on anything else. But at least I know
I won't be running out of things to work on any time soon!

Friday, June 5, 2015

For
this Friday: Five fantasy books/series (well-known and not so
well-known) that influenced me. (links go to Goodreads, to first books
in series. Covers shown are the editions I own.)

1. The Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander.
The first epic fantasy series I ever read (that I can recall, anyway). A
great starter series for kids, and also entertaining for adults. The
struggle between good and evil, the colorful characters, the adventure,
and the love story between Taran and Eilonwy (even as a child, eight or
nine years old, I loved love stories) all caught my imagination and made
me want more.

2. The Earthsea Trilogy, by Ursula K. LeGuin.
My parents gave me a nice boxed set of this when I was 11 or 12, for my
birthday or Christmas (they're close together). Magic and adventure on
the oceans and islands of Earthsea with Ged, one of the greatest fantasy
characters of all times. Ged was one of my book crushes when I was a
tween (of course, I'm far too old for that sort of thing now
*coughcough*). This introduced me to the idea of the wizard dedicated to
that life (and to the concept of schools of magic), and contributed to
my thinking that it wasn't fair that wizards didn't get to fall in love
and if they did they could never do anything about it. Naturally, I was
intrigued by what could have been the romance between Ged and Tenar. The
relationship is finally continued in the 4th Earthsea book, Tehanu, but
I had a lot of problems with that book, especially feeling like Ms.
LeGuin changed her characters almost to where they were unrecognizable
to suit the political/philosophical points she wanted to make in the
book. So, for me, Earthsea stops with book 3 and I let my imagination
take it from there.

3. The Riddle-Master Trilogy, by Patricia McKillip.
Gorgeous prose and dripping with magic in a world where riddles hold
the keys to ancient, lost knowledge, no one thinks there's anything
strange about rulers who are hundreds of years old, ghosts and spirits
walk the earth, and magic isn't a discipline, it's the fabric of which
the world is made. Morgon, the farmer-prince, is another of the greatest
fantasy characters ever (and another of my teenage book crushes), and
the relationship between him and his betrothed Raederle is another great
love story. (The cover on my original copy of book 1 is hideous. Get the very nice omnibus edition instead.)

4. Crispan Magicker, by Mark M. Lowenthal.
I'll say it right now, yet another of my teenage book crushes. There
are a lot of problems with this book, but the character of Crispan makes
up for them. He's a wizard dedicated to the Order, naive and honorable,
who has to go after his teacher Vladur who has become corrupted and put
a stop to his evil plans. Along the way he is tested and tried and
stretched, required to become a military commander and take lives, and
ultimately has to risk losing everything that matters to him in order to
protect the world. Really an awesome character. This book again brought
up the themes of wizards dedicated to the practice, and to a formal
order, and also risking losing everything you have and everything you
are in order to do the right things. And again, why don't wizards get to
fall in love and do something about it? There's a tantalizing hint
about "a woman by an unknown sea", and Crispan clearly has a lot of
adventures ahead of him, but no sequel was ever published. Which makes
me sad. Long out of print, which also makes me sad, but used copies are
available. I would love to see Mr. Lowenthal (also a prominent figure in
intelligence and national security circles) get the rights back,
republish independently, and write some sequels.

5. The Apprentice, by Deborah Bickmore.
Yes! Fantasy with a real romance in it! Jaimah, the young
apprentice/servant of the powerful sorceress Shayna, is drawn to and
terrified by Corwyn, Shayna's mysterious and powerful new apprentice.
When it comes to a showdown between Corwyn and Shayna over a powerful,
dangerous spell, which wizard will destroy Jaimah and which one will
save her? The kind of book I love to write (and love to read if I can
find them), where the fantasy and the romance are in equal balance. This
book was out of print for a long time, but now Ms. Bickmore has
indie-published it in Kindle and paperback editions, hooray!

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

My
vision of fantasy-western (or, if you prefer, western fantasy) and how
and why I got the idea to mash up the two genres. (This is based on two
different but similar posts I wrote for Derek Alan Siddoway's blog and the Speculative Fiction Showcase.
Since other people's blogs can come and go, I decided it's best to have
something this important on my own blog as well. Also be sure to check
out the other versions on those sites!)

Out
of the dusty desert hills he rides into town, the nameless stranger
astride a horse as toughened with hard experience as he is. The wide
brim of his hat conceals his eyes and unshaven face in shade; his long
brown coat, much patched and mended, blows open just enough to reveal
the six-shooter holstered at his hip. He seems to be just another
wandering gunfighter, but that gun can do things no regular gun can do,
and, on a silver chain hidden beneath his shirt, a ring set with a blue
stone glows with the strength of his magical power.

This is no ordinary gunslinger.

Meet Silas Vendine, the hero of my fantasy-western series Daughter of the Wildings.
The fantasy half comes from high fantasy, which I define (and I know
everyone has their own definition) as fantasy set in another world, with
a heroic storyline, where magic is an essential element of the story.

The
western part of fantasy-western comes from the traditions of the
classic pulp westerns: the wide-open, lawless frontier, confrontations
between good and evil, self-reliance, individual freedom and
responsibility, the struggle to survive, and characters who are trying
to make a new start in life or find justice, revenge, redemption, or
just a ton of riches.To me, fantasy and western were made to go together. There
are so many places where the traditional elements of the two genres can
come together to enrich and expand each other. Desolate and mystical
landscapes; the struggle between good and evil; characters who don’t fit
into ordinary society, epic journeys where simply surviving is a
victory – you’ll find all of these elements and more in both fantasy and
westerns. Silas Vendine, the gunslinger who is also a mage, fits into a
long tradition of both fantasy and western heroes: the mysterious man
with extraordinary skills and strengths, a loner, who has his own
mission in life and his own moral code that doesn’t necessarily fit with
the accepted conventions.

And it isn’t just the similarites
between the two genres that inspired me to combine them. The contrast
between the down and dirty struggle for survival that was life in the
Old West and the otherworldly wonder of magic, and between the rough
technology of the late 1800s and the traditions of magic and fantasy,
are ripe with storytelling possibilities. In Daughter of the Wildings, I
wanted to put the familiar western elements into a world that isn’t
ours, where magic is pervasive and well-known. Gamblers play cards in
the saloons – but the cards have names like Moon Mage and Star Dragon.
The A’ayimat, the indigenous people of the Wildings, have blue-toned
skin and golden eyes, and can understand any language that is spoken to
them. Clocks with numbered hours, eyeglasses, and guns are the products
of foreign science and are forbidden in the civilized, mage-dominated
land of Granadaia. Cowboys herd cattle out on the open range while
man-eating groviks – think furry alligators with rabbit-ears – roam the
mountains. And on the night of the dark of the moon, when the eight gods
hide their faces from the world, that mournful howling you hear could
just as easily be a coyote, a demon, or lost and lonely spirit.

The
landscapes of the West are another inspiration. I was born and raised
in the West, and still live there. I love to set my favorite genre,
fantasy, in the wide-open landscapes I grew up with, the snow-covered
peaks, evergreen forests, grassy rangelands, and rugged desert hills and
dry riverbeds. Mountains and deserts especially play an important role
in my writing. Mountains are places where the earth and the heavens meet
in a mystical joining, while in the desert, things are hidden, buried,
waiting to be revealed by an angle of the light, a rainstorm, or
fortuitous digging in the right place. Both mountains and deserts hold
deep secrets and power and history, and demand the utmost in skill and
courage of those who journey or live there.Come
join Silas Vendine and Lainie Banfrey on an exciting western adventure
set in a world of fantasy and magic – or an epic fantasy adventure in a
world of cowboys and gunslingers.

Other

Kyra Halland: Welcome to My Worlds is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Subscribe

Followers

Google+ Followers

About Me

Kyra Halland has always loved fantasy. She has also always loved a good love story. Years ago, as a new stay-at-home mom, she decided to combine those two loves - like chocolate and peanut butter! - by writing the kinds of romantic fantasy novels she wanted to read.
Complicated, honorable heroes; strong, smart, feminine heroines; magic, romance, and adventure; deep emotion mixed with a dash of offbeat humor - all of these make up Kyra Halland's worlds. She loves sharing those worlds with readers and hopes they will enjoy her stories and characters as much as she does.
Kyra Halland lives in southern Arizona. She has a very patient husband, two less-patient cats, two young adult sons, a lovely daughter-in-law, and an adorable granddaughter. Besides writing, she enjoys scrapbooking and anime, and she wants to be a crazy cat lady when she grows up.